The DExD/H-box helicase Dicer-2 mediates the induction of antiviral activity in drosophila.
Drosophila, like other invertebrates and plants, relies mainly on RNA interference for its defense against viruses. In flies, viral infection also triggers the expression of many genes. One of the genes induced, Vago, encodes a 18-kilodalton cysteine-rich polypeptide. Here we provide genetic evidence that the Vago gene product controlled viral load in the fat body after infection with drosophila C virus. Induction of Vago was dependent on the helicase Dicer-2. Dicer-2 belongs to the same DExD/H-box helicase family as do the RIG-I-like receptors, which sense viral infection and mediate interferon induction in mammals. We propose that this family represents an evolutionary conserved set of sensors that detect viral nucleic acids and direct antiviral responses.
Deddouche
Safia
S
Unité Propre de Recherché 9022, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, 67084 Strasbourg, France.
Matt
Nicolas
N
Budd
Aidan
A
Mueller
Stefanie
S
Kemp
Cordula
C
Galiana-Arnoux
Delphine
D
Dostert
Catherine
C
Antoniewski
Christophe
C
Hoffmann
Jules A
JA
Imler
Jean-Luc
JL
D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D004330:Drosophila / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005216:Fat Body / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D010802:Phylogeny; D020365:RNA Helicases / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D043244:Ribonuclease III; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000276:immunology
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C478069:DCR-2 protein, Drosophila; D043244:Ribonuclease III; D020365:RNA Helicases